Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSleeping GuidelinesSleep DisruptionsSymptoms and CausesTips for RecoveryWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Sleeping Guidelines
Sleep Disruptions
Symptoms and Causes
Tips for Recovery
When to See a Provider
Sleeping after a concussion is usually OK and often helps with your recovery. But first, check with your healthcare provider to make sure you don’t have a more serious head injury. After a concussion, you may have trouble sleeping, though there are steps you can take to get some rest.
Medical professionals used to think people with concussions should stay awake to prevent slipping into acoma. We now know that sleeping after a concussion won’t lead to a coma. However, it can make it difficult to watch for symptoms of a serious head injury, including seizures or weakness on one side of the body. Your healthcare provider can confirm if it’s OK to sleep and what symptoms to watch for.
Verywell / Mayya Agapova
When Can You Sleep After a Concussion?
Some healthcare providers say you can let someone with a possible concussion fall asleep if:
Sleep Guidelines for Children
After this rest period, slowly returning to normal activities (as long as it does not cause symptoms to return) will help speed recovery.
Sleep Disruptions From a Concussion
Concussions can cause some symptoms that are directly related to sleep. In the first few days after the injury, it’s common for someone with a concussion to feel tired or have a hard time staying awake. About two to three weeks after the concussion, some people report having difficulty falling asleep or waking up early in the morning, leading to fatigue during the day. These insomnia symptoms could last from a few weeks to three years.
A study review found that people with concussions often report having sleep disturbances more often than people with moderate to severe brain injuries. One possible reason is those with concussions return to their daily activities sooner despite not being fully recovered.
What If They Will Not Wake Up?If you can’t rouse someone from sleep after a head injury, call 911. A serious brain injury can result in acoma, or a deep state of unconsciousness. Some patients completely recover after a coma while others have significant disabilities.
What If They Will Not Wake Up?
If you can’t rouse someone from sleep after a head injury, call 911. A serious brain injury can result in acoma, or a deep state of unconsciousness. Some patients completely recover after a coma while others have significant disabilities.
Other Symptoms of a Concussion or Brain Injury
The commonsymptomsof a concussion include:
For babies and young children up to age 4, some of the signs of concussion include:
With a concussion, the trauma to the brain stretches and changes neurons (types of brain cells) and can lead to disruptions in brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that make it hard for your neurons to communicate with each other.
When to Get Emergency Help
Call 911 or get the person to a hospital immediately after a head injury if they:
Tips for Getting Rest After a Concussion
Sleep is an important part of healing, so you should get plenty of rest after a concussion. However, difficulty sleeping is a symptom of concussion, and after headaches, it is the most commonly reported symptom.
If you have sleep issues that linger after the first few days of healing, you may want to try the following to get better sleep:
If your sleep problems don’t go away within a few weeks of the concussion, talk to your healthcare provider about it.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Symptoms that are more severe warrant a trip to the emergency room.
Activities to Avoid After Hitting Your Head
For up to 48 hours after a concussion, you should avoid activities that involve reaction time, multitasking, and working memory. Here are some things to avoid after a concussion:
Emerging evidence shows that returning to a moderate activity level 48 hours after a concussion can help speed recovery.
Summary
Sleeping isn’t always dangerous when you have a concussion, but any injury to your brain should be taken seriously. You won’t slip into a coma or die if you go to sleep after getting a concussion.
It’s safe for a concussed person to sleep if they can hold a conversation and don’t have obvious concussion symptoms while they’re awake. Allow for plenty of sleep so the body’s natural healing process can begin.
12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.UAMS Health.Is it safe to sleep if you have a concussion?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Concussion basics.Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance.Does a concussion affect sleep?Dawson J, Reed N, Bauman S, Seguin R, Zemek R.Diagnosing and managing paediatric concussion: Key recommendations for general paediatricians and family doctors.Paediatr Child Health. 2021;26(7):402-407. doi:10.1093/pch/pxab024Mosti C, Spiers MV, Kloss JD.A practical guide to evaluating sleep disturbance in concussion patients.Neurol Clin Pract. 2016;6(2):129-137. doi:10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000225John Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Signs and symptoms of concussions.University of Minnesota.Stretching of neurons implicated in traumatic brain injury.Zhou Y, Greenwald BD.Update on insomnia after mild traumatic brain injury.Brain Sci. 2018;8(12):223. doi:10.3390/brainsci8120223National Institutes of Health. News in Health.A bang to the head: what we know about concussions.Macnow T, Curran T, Tolliday C, et al.Effect of screen time on recovery from concussion.JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(11):1-8. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2782Leddy JJ, Haider MN, Ellis M, Willer BS.Exercise is medicine for concussion.Curr Sports Med Rep. 2018;17(8):262-270. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000505
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.UAMS Health.Is it safe to sleep if you have a concussion?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Concussion basics.Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance.Does a concussion affect sleep?Dawson J, Reed N, Bauman S, Seguin R, Zemek R.Diagnosing and managing paediatric concussion: Key recommendations for general paediatricians and family doctors.Paediatr Child Health. 2021;26(7):402-407. doi:10.1093/pch/pxab024Mosti C, Spiers MV, Kloss JD.A practical guide to evaluating sleep disturbance in concussion patients.Neurol Clin Pract. 2016;6(2):129-137. doi:10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000225John Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Signs and symptoms of concussions.University of Minnesota.Stretching of neurons implicated in traumatic brain injury.Zhou Y, Greenwald BD.Update on insomnia after mild traumatic brain injury.Brain Sci. 2018;8(12):223. doi:10.3390/brainsci8120223National Institutes of Health. News in Health.A bang to the head: what we know about concussions.Macnow T, Curran T, Tolliday C, et al.Effect of screen time on recovery from concussion.JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(11):1-8. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2782Leddy JJ, Haider MN, Ellis M, Willer BS.Exercise is medicine for concussion.Curr Sports Med Rep. 2018;17(8):262-270. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000505
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
UAMS Health.Is it safe to sleep if you have a concussion?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Concussion basics.Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance.Does a concussion affect sleep?Dawson J, Reed N, Bauman S, Seguin R, Zemek R.Diagnosing and managing paediatric concussion: Key recommendations for general paediatricians and family doctors.Paediatr Child Health. 2021;26(7):402-407. doi:10.1093/pch/pxab024Mosti C, Spiers MV, Kloss JD.A practical guide to evaluating sleep disturbance in concussion patients.Neurol Clin Pract. 2016;6(2):129-137. doi:10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000225John Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Signs and symptoms of concussions.University of Minnesota.Stretching of neurons implicated in traumatic brain injury.Zhou Y, Greenwald BD.Update on insomnia after mild traumatic brain injury.Brain Sci. 2018;8(12):223. doi:10.3390/brainsci8120223National Institutes of Health. News in Health.A bang to the head: what we know about concussions.Macnow T, Curran T, Tolliday C, et al.Effect of screen time on recovery from concussion.JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(11):1-8. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2782Leddy JJ, Haider MN, Ellis M, Willer BS.Exercise is medicine for concussion.Curr Sports Med Rep. 2018;17(8):262-270. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000505
UAMS Health.Is it safe to sleep if you have a concussion?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Concussion basics.
Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance.Does a concussion affect sleep?
Dawson J, Reed N, Bauman S, Seguin R, Zemek R.Diagnosing and managing paediatric concussion: Key recommendations for general paediatricians and family doctors.Paediatr Child Health. 2021;26(7):402-407. doi:10.1093/pch/pxab024
Mosti C, Spiers MV, Kloss JD.A practical guide to evaluating sleep disturbance in concussion patients.Neurol Clin Pract. 2016;6(2):129-137. doi:10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000225
John Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heads up: Signs and symptoms of concussions.
University of Minnesota.Stretching of neurons implicated in traumatic brain injury.
Zhou Y, Greenwald BD.Update on insomnia after mild traumatic brain injury.Brain Sci. 2018;8(12):223. doi:10.3390/brainsci8120223
National Institutes of Health. News in Health.A bang to the head: what we know about concussions.
Macnow T, Curran T, Tolliday C, et al.Effect of screen time on recovery from concussion.JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(11):1-8. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2782
Leddy JJ, Haider MN, Ellis M, Willer BS.Exercise is medicine for concussion.Curr Sports Med Rep. 2018;17(8):262-270. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000505
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